Effect of ultraviolet radiation on dielectric properties of asphalt mixture

ABSTRACT

Asphalt pavements are inevitably exposed to sunlight during their service. Long-term ultraviolet (UV) radiation in the solar spectrum leads to many chemical bond breaks in asphalt and changes the dielectric properties of the asphalt mixture. In this paper, two types of asphalt and asphalt mixtures with the same ratio as the research object were selected, and experimental research on the dielectric properties of the mixture and its single-phase medium under different UV radiation conditions was conducted. The changes in the asphalt composition and structure before and after UV radiation were analysed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Finally, by introducing influence coefficient of UV radiation, the CRIM, Looyenga, and Li Jianhao models were improved. Comparison of the calculated value of the improved model with the measured value demonstrated that the improved Li Jianhao model had the smallest error, the highest calculation accuracy, and the best fit with the measured value. The model can better describe the composite dielectric characteristics of the asphalt mixture and provide a theoretical basis for the nondestructive and rapid detection of asphalt pavement compactness, asphalt content, and other indicators of the ground-penetrating radar (GPR) in different climatic environments.

KEYWORDS:

• Asphalt mixture
• UV radiation
• dielectric properties
• dielectric constant
• dielectric model

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

All data, models, and codes generated or used during the study appear in the submitted article.

Additional information

Funding

The support of this work by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [Grant Nos. 51878624 and 51878622], the National Key Research and Development Plan [grant number 2018YFB1600200], Central Plains Talent Plan (Leading talent) in Central Plains, Henan Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars [grant number 202300410354], Funding Program for Key Scientific Research Projects of Higher Education Institutions in Henan Province [grant number 22A580004], the National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant number 52178401], Henan University Science and Technology Innovation Team Support Plan [grant number 23IRTSTHN014].